Wheat Futures Rise as Hedge Funds Unwind Bets on Price Slump

Wheat rose for the third time this week on signs that hedge funds and other large speculators are unwinding bets that prices will fall.

Speculative short positions, which stand to gain on declines in futures, outnumbered long positions by 55,427 contracts in Chicago in the week ended April 6, government data show. The net-short position on Feb. 9 was a record 60,457. Wheat prices have dropped 9 percent this year amid increasing global production and rising stockpiles.

“The market is a technically driven market these days,” said Dewey Strickler, the president of Ag Watch Market Advisers in Nashville, Tennessee. “The trend-following funds are short, and that’s supporting the market.”

Wheat futures for July delivery rose 5.5 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $4.9275 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade. The price has gained 2.8 percent this week.

Wheat is the fourth-biggest U.S. crop, valued at $10.6 billion in 2009, behind corn, soybeans and hay, government data show.

Tony C. Dreibus
Source: Bloomberg